Ice Fishing

Ice fishing... ice fishing... Sitting in a small hut on top of a lake, minding a hole in the frozen surface, waiting for a fish to bite. I have to admit this is something I don’t see much excitement in.

Sometimes they stay too long, these hardy anglers. Maybe they’re trying to extend the season (catch one last fish, avoid the wife one last weekend) and the next thing they know, the minivan has gone through the ice.

Once I heard about a guy who built too big a fire inside his shanty. Nope, not what you think. He didn’t melt his way into the lake - or at least not initially. He stoked the stove and then went to visit a “neighbor” and when he looked back, his shanty was going up in flames! (Then it went into the lake). He was really broken-hearted.

I can’t think of any women who ice fish, but I know several guys who love it, and there are a few others I suspect of having the affliction: this time of year their clothes give off a faint fishy odor when you bump into them in town.

Come to think of it, maybe ice fishing is like blogging. There’s a virtual neighborhood, friends you don’t really know, and everybody’s interested in what’s going on in the others’ places.

Hey, City Mouse or Em or Whim, toss me a beer. Huh? Oh, right. ‘Guess that’s the difference... that and the smell...
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..........Ice fishing shanties on Lake Champlain near South Hero Island
.......................March 6, 2007 ~ © copyright Wizened Eye 2007
.............................................................................(Click to enlarge)

Do You Think it's -20 in Vermont Too?

I'm off to Burlington for a couple of days. While I'm gone, Robin has written something that echoes my heart's thoughts. You'll have to scroll down a bit when you get to her blog, but her piece is important to read.

Hasta la pasta!

Work: the Great Distraction...

(If you're in a hurry, please just go to the photos at the bottom of the post and skip the lengthy explanation. As always, I'd love to have you click on a photo for a closer look.)

My husband and I are starting a new business. It's primarily web-based and has to do with helping people find jobs. This is one of his passions, or as we are fond of calling this great interest, his sickness.

We've done a number of strange and varied things together over the years, and we're a great team. Like most good couples, we share pretty much the same world-view, not always agreeing on the details or the reasoning but valueing the same outcomes and state of things. Our individual skill sets are amazingly yin-yang.

Owing to the sub-clauses of the contract that began with "I do," enjoying the chance to work together on something, and desiring an income of some sort, I am a partner in the new business. He is the idea person; I am the "eye of the common folk" (meaning I interject the occasional note of reality...). I am also the photographer and editor for the website and for the newsprint pieces which lead readers to it. The website is database driven and complex, and part of my job is checking all the links and navigation. Together we do it all: substance, design, sales, delivery. If we're lucky, maybe we'll build it into a business that turns a meager profit.

So that, in a nutshell, is why I have not had the time to go visiting around Bloggerville lately.

But don't think I am not enjoying this venture! I won't bore you - yet - with any of the "work" photos, but I do want to share a couple of shots I took between business stops last Friday.
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The Lion in Spring
© copyright 2007 WizenedEye.com
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On the Dark Side of the Street
© copyright 2007 WizenedEye.com

And Good Night!

The storm has passed, leaving us with at least a foot of new fluffy powder. The horses are eating their hay outside under a full moon and a sky filled with stars.
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Good Evening...

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It snowed hard all day today. We had a glorious ski trek through the woods in the storm.
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Good Afternoon...
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These sumac berries stood out against the whiteness.
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